ACTIVE VIEWING

Abstract

This study uses reception analysis based in cultural studies, which argues that audiences actively view media and critically and socially create media meanings and interpretations. Examining data from individual interviews and focus groups, the author identifies how nine- to thirteen-year-old girls individually and collectively interpret family situation comedies. The results indicate that girls use their own individual experiences to critically evaluate television families. Second, girls incorporate the morals and values of each program into their collective talk. Third, girls actively assess humorous sequences and attach particular salience to humor involving body control and body image. Fourth, television is used as a shared cultural experience and social capital in active collaborative talk, and media meanings are socially constructed through interaction. The author argues that the girls are active viewers and that family television sitcoms can be a positive, prosocial force in girls' lives that fosters social interaction and enhances social relationships.